


little star, tonight

by ludibrium (etherealism)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 09:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7097548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etherealism/pseuds/ludibrium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>soonyoung likes to think he knows jihoon best</p>
            </blockquote>





	little star, tonight

**Author's Note:**

> "close your eyes and listen carefully to my story  
> before my story ends, you will dream  
> little star tonight  
> all night, i will watch over you"  
> \- standing egg, "little star"

Soonyoung likes to think that he knows Jihoon best.

 

With his heart beating in excitement and anxiousness for his upcoming future, Soonyoung grips the acceptance flyer tightly in two hands and takes long glides towards the practice room. Something that may have been a suggestion thrown among playful friends or a simple idea sprouting from the charms of celebrities on magazines, had grown itself into becoming Soonyoung's dream. 

When he had received the acceptance from Pledis, Soonyoung had gaped in disbelief for a few seconds before running to proudly show his parents and friends, earning congratulatory words of encouragement and comforting slaps on the back. The boy plasters a toothy smile over his face and dreams of the numerous days and nights to spend dancing his heart away in the sweat-filled rooms of Pledis Entertainment.

"Excuse me, do you know where practice room B is located?" Soonyoung eagerly questions to the receptionist, who then silently looks up from her work and nods towards the left. Briefly bowing his head to show appreciation, Soonyoung walks towards the room at the end of the hall with the sound of his giddy heart beating loudly through his ears. The electrifying moment that hits the boy when his hand grips onto the doorknob is unlike any other feeling felt before, and causes Soonyoung to be placed in a trance.

The moment his hand twists open the door marks his first meeting with a certain special interest; the first steps he involuntarily takes towards knowing all there is to know about Lee Jihoon. 

"Um, are you one of the girl group trainees?" Soonyoung asks, breath slightly taken away by the young trainee in front of him with a milky complexion. As the door swings open to reveal the insides of the practice room, Soonyoung's eyes immediately fall upon the person in front of him sitting with legs crossed and cheeks flushed. If anything, this is the moment Soonyoung realizes that idol entertainments truly do select people on their visuals, and silently wonders if the person in front of him would take up the position of an adorable youngest member of a group.

The other stares back at Soonyoung with dark, black orbs before deadpanning, "I'm a boy," which effectively throws Soonyoung off his balance and brings him to apologize profusely. 

_Soonyoung learns that Jihoon is a boy, and it is the boy Jihoon that Soonyoung likes to think he knows best._

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Soonyoung enjoys watching Jihoon work as a producer; the way he places years of emotion into tracks that last for only four minutes. 

The way Jihoon's eyes light up as members enter the recording studio one-by-one and show gradual progress. Soonyoung understands that words are a complicated thing for the smaller boy, and compliments are hard to phrase, but he can see the praise form into warmth and radiate off of Jihoon's eyes. When the members of Seventeen express their desire and desperation to debut through the recording equipment, Soonyoung can see the subtle changes in Jihoon's actions. 

As voices strain themselves to reach a note higher than normal, Soonyoung can see Jihoon's grip tighten on his mouse. As the raps begin to pour out bittersweet emotions, Soonyoung can see Jihoon slightly bite his lip and hide behind a stoic expression. 

As much as Soonyoung had wanted to debut and have his name hung next to other groups, he knew that Jihoon wanted it more. The double-edged sword scenario of it all was that debuting never equated to success, and a drop to failure after debuting could only be described as the worst case scenario, but it was still possible. Soonyoung could see the way Jihoon's pupils rapidly shook when the pressure of thirteen futures were placed on his back. The back that had just turned into an adult and still lacked the strength and experience needed to survive in the industry. 

Soonyoung enters the recording studio and greets the boy in front of him with a encouraging smile and cheerful attitude. Even if the other lacks the words to express gratitude, the years of countless practice and training have led Soonyoung to easily understand Jihoon and recognizes the flash of thankfulness in his eyes. The taller boy pulls the microphone closer to him and rehearses his parts to himself.

Holding his headset with a tighter grip, Soonyoung considers the numerous amount of possibilities that could result from their debut; every possibility from the spectrum including the ones that make him swallow back heavily. Although Jihoon laughs off the little musings everyone throws towards the camera for their show, Soonyoung can see the worry traced on the other's face and watches Jihoon hesitantly tap on the mouse, eyes never leaving the pitch range shown through the monitor.

"Tune," Jihoon advises, the sharp look never leaving his eyes. Despite the lack of words attached, Soonyoung understands what the other wants from him and compliantly works to match Jihoon's level of contentment. Soonyoung sees the straight line on Jihoon's face curve into a small smile once the recording comes out the way he intended, and the taller boy feels a warmth blossom inside. 

The minute Soonyoung gets an affirmative nod of approval from the other, he feels that nothing could compare to the satisfaction. As Jihoon applauds to signal an end for their recording session, a shy grin spreads across Soonyoung's face and reflects itself across Jihoon's.

_Soonyoung learns that Jihoon holds so much more emotion to being a producer than he likes to show, and it is the producer Jihoon that Soonyoung likes to think he knows best._

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

"I heard that you produce the songs for Seventeen, is that true?" A reporter asks Jihoon, who is now known publicly as Woozi. "If so, then you must be very talented," she adds with nods of agreement from the surrounding members. A shade of pink begins to appear on the boy's face to match his fairy floss-like hair and Soonyoung recognizes immediately that the shy expression spreading is a way to mask his difficulty in accepting compliments. 

"I'm really thankful that the members trust me," Jihoon and Woozi admit at the same time. Soonyoung watches as the pink-haired boy flips back and forth from being the producer, Woozi, and the humble boy, Lee Jihoon. Woozi is the one to accept compliments in full stride, while Jihoon still fiddles with his fingers at every flattering remark. He sees the public become accustomed to Woozi and silently feels pride in being able to know Lee Jihoon. 

Woozi is the persona whose life began the moment beats came out of speakers and cheers resonated from fans. The vocal unit's leader who confidently harmonizes with his unit members. Woozi is the one that introduces their album and talks about how each song contains a certain message along with the type of genre it associates with. When the requests for cute actions come flowing in through radio stations or interviews, Jihoon swallows himself and brings forth Woozi to fulfill desires. Despite this, Soonyoung watches people fall for Woozi and notes the way Woozi looks back at them. 

But compared to Woozi, Lee Jihoon is someone that Kwon Soonyoung knows. Lee Jihoon is a star that shines brightly to Soonyoung; a star who brightens up the tough nights with high hopes and pleasant dreams. The boy who works from sunrise to sunset on perfecting his harmonies to make sure no one gets let down. Lee Jihoon is the one that produces their album and works on each song with a certain message along with finding the type of genre to associate it with. When the requests for cute actions come from members or managers, Jihoon puts on a straight face and deadpans a refusal. Soonyoung watches himself fall for Jihoon and notes the way Jihoon looks somewhere else.

The boy watches as Woozi dances across the stage with confident grins and steps as light as a feather. He watches as Woozi takes center during the chorus and grabs the hearts of many with his title of the resident "pink fairy". 

Soonyoung also watches as Lee Jihoon thankfully accepts each fan letter and opens them with shy smiles and fond expressions. He watches as Jihoon grabs the hearts of many with his subtle actions that show fans how much he truly cares for them. 

_Soonyoung learns that Woozi is Jihoon and Jihoon is Woozi, and it is Woozi and Jihoon that Soonyoung likes to think he knows best._

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

"Today's 1st place winner is... Seventeen! Congratulations!" The voice congratulates through the microphone as the thirteen members look at each other with clueless expressions and gaping mouths. Through all the bowing and applause they receive, Soonyoung's eyes immediately begin to shake from side to side as he recognizes the name that came from the speakers.

Soonyoung watches from left to right. He watches Seungcheol look for the right words to say. He watches Jeonghan widely smile and jump with the other members. He watches as the microphone gets placed into his own shaky hands and how he chokes up with a lack of words to say. His eyes finally land on Jihoon enveloped in the embrace of their members.

Continuing to look at Jihoon, Soonyoung begins to feel more tears swell up and trickle down his cheeks. He can hear the MC go on about their surface accomplishments, but Soonyoung thinks of the real accomplishments. The ones where they would give up nights of sleep and substitute it for cups of coffee, the ones where sweat would be hard to differentiate from tears, but both would become the energy to keep running forth.

Soonyoung thinks about the nights of frustration that would cause him to face himself in the practice room mirror and endure the sense of loneliness that resonated back at him. Mockingly, the large room would echo his cries back at him and pierce through his vulnerable body. Images of himself scrapping one dance move after another flash through in his mind and he bites back the tears of how lonely he felt in that empty room, surrounded by nothing but crumpled papers and broken ideas.

But as he watches the members wipe the tears off each other's faces, Soonyoung feels a stronger wave of emotions push through. He remembers how after throwing away numerous ideas in that same practice room, paper balls began to hit him instead and as he rose up to find an explanation, Jihoon would be standing with a wide grin stretched across his face.

"You do know that we have a recycling bin for this, right?" The other would playfully tease, unknowingly pulling Soonyoung away from being entangled in loneliness, and throwing him into the warm embrace of being part of a team. Taking a seat next to the dancer, Jihoon would bury his face into his knees. Without specific words being shared, the two would harmonize with the same feelings of detachment and frustration, and polish those hearts into new ones that held hope and determination. 

Thinking of the nights at the practice room, Soonyoung brings himself back to where he is on stage with the trophy. As salty tears begin to gradually sting his face, Soonyoung faces the floor and reels in the amount of effort he needed and the amount of effort Jihoon gave towards everything. Soonyoung thinks of the endless determination that he and Jihoon needed as Hoshi and Woozi within Seventeen. The way each minute of their songs would amount to countless hours of self-criticism and frustration. 

As Soonyoung watches Jihoon continue to quietly express his relief and hardships through minimal amount of tears, he silently agrees within his heart. The expression on Jihoon's face may seem heartbreaking to some on first glance, but Soonyoung knows it's a way to confirm that he's doing all right; that he's doing the best he can and that it's more than enough.

_Soonyoung learns that Jihoon holds a lot of responsibility and sacrifice on his back and it is the considerate Jihoon that Soonyoung likes to think he knows best._

 

 

-

 

 

Soonyoung watches as Jihoon's emotions fill his mind. He watches Jihoon steal his attention and sight for as far as the eye can reach and how the other unconsciously begins to pull away Soonyoung's heart and label it as his own.

Soonyoung gently pads over to Jihoon's room to congratulate him on their win and thank him for everything he's done for the group. With his heart beating at an irregular speed, Soonyoung lets out a short breath and allows any form of rationality to leave his mind for a second. Feeling flutters of anticipation form knots within his stomach, Soonyoung halts abruptly in front of the smaller boy's door and lifts an arm to knock.

 

 

 

 

_But when gentle laughter is held in behind closed doors with quiet whispers of love and subtle touches, Soonyoung wonders if there is someone else that Jihoon knows best._

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! i am back huhu thank you so much for the kudos and comments on the last fic i love you guys ;_;  
> if anyone is wondering about the timeline of this verse it's:  
> 1) soonyoung first meeting jihoon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0vqqYbiVec  
> 2) jihoon in the recording studio for shining diamonds during 17 project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJtC_SS_dcI  
> 3) woozi cuts for interviews right after debuting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcqAGsDtKjw  
> 4) i was debating whether or not to put sma and then 1st win, but i felt i would be repetitive so i just used their pretty u win sorry for the random jump ;-; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwUffAnRa9k
> 
> also it's obv still fiction, so things are made up here and there hope you enjoyed n_n!! and i am always welcome to friends and such so tweet away~ @eostower  
> 


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